


Hell Bent

by doomdesire03



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, J. Jonah Jameson - Freeform, Multi, Other, Personal Growth, Pre-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Pre-Spider-Man: Homecoming, Secret Identity, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Spider-Man: Homecoming Compliant, Teen Crush, Teenage Drama
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-14 06:49:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29166738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doomdesire03/pseuds/doomdesire03
Summary: Annemarie Abbey has moved to Brooklyn after spending most of her childhood in Orange County. As she adjusts to her life in New York, she encounters the new hero in town known only to the public as Spider-Man.
Relationships: Curt Connors & Original Female Character(s), Liz Allan & Original Character(s), Liz Allan/Peter Parker, Michelle Jones & Original Female Character(s), Ned Leeds & Original Female Character(s), Peter Parker & Original Female Character(s), Peter Parker/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, please - before reading, I assure you: 
> 
> YES YOU HAVE READ THIS BEFORE and YES IT'S ME. Long story short, I entered a depressive episode and deleted everything on my old AO3. Then, I moved and began pursuing my degree as well as working. 
> 
> I'm in a happier place, and more confident in my writing, so here it is once more. There are some slight changes - I've merged some chapters together and will cut some scenes in general as the story progresses. I'll also be borrowing some elements from the comics.
> 
> Thank you to anyone and everyone who chooses to read this, feedback is beyond appreciated and I hope you enjoy.

If there was one thing Annemarie Abbey loved more than anything else, it was her family. Granted, they had their ups and downs like any other normal family would, but nevertheless she held them near and dear to her heart, even when they seemed to be unfair at times. There was her mother, Wendy, a hard-working woman who always seemed to know just what to say. Annemarie resembled her in many ways - from the nervous ticks to the choice of breakfast every morning, and even her appearance. The similarities, however, ended there.

Wendy’s cheerful demeanor and constant go-getting attitude rubbed off on Annemarie’s older brother, Adam. Beginning his bachelor’s program in Empire State University, Adam was loud, cheerful, charismatic, and had many interests in different fields of study. Because of this, he had plenty of friends from different backgrounds. He was Annemarie’s complete and total opposite: he preferred sports and the outdoors while she preferred her books and watching space documentaries. Nevertheless, even when he teased her, Annemarie loved him very much. In turn, he was incredibly protective of her, thus why he protested when Annemarie insisted on going with him on his first day of classes.

“Why do you want to go to a college campus?” Adam asked her, mouth full of Pop-Tart as he hurried to get ready, “You still have another two weeks of summer vacation!”

“I want to see what it’s like! Besides, I won’t get in your way. I’ll stay in the library if you tell me where it is.” Annemarie ate her Pop-Tart with slow, small bites, a napkin wrapped around it while Adam wolfed down one and was working on another one.

“God, you’re such a nerd,” Adam rolled his eyes. He grabbed his bag from his chair, hoisted it over one shoulder while searching the kitchen counter for his keys. Annemarie absently wondered how he could consider himself ready when his dark hair poked about in every direction. He had a red tee on underneath an olive-green utility jacket, but he missed his pants, wearing only white socks and boxer briefs. When Adam let out a small “a-ha!” upon finding his keys, Annemarie giggled,

“So, uh, Adam...is underwear the newest fashion on campus?”

Adam raised an eyebrow, “What the hell are you talking about…?” he briefly glanced down, and then there was a loud, “ _Dammit!_ ” before he flew out the room, tripping over two chairs and almost colliding into their mother on the way to his bedroom.

“Hey, be careful there, sweetie!” Wendy exclaimed as he slammed his door. There was a muffled, “Sorry, Mom,” in response as she shook her head, laughing quietly.

“I feel like Adam would forget his own head if it wasn’t attached,” Wendy joked, giving Annemarie a kiss on the top of her head. “Are you sure you want to stay with your brother today? You know I trust you being home alone, right?”

“I know.” Annemarie chirped in response, finishing her Pop-Tart and dusting off her hands before tugging on a black bowler hat. “I just don’t want to sit around reading the same old books, and watching crappy TV,” she rolled her eyes dramatically as Wendy laughed again,

“All right, smart mouth. Just be careful and don’t go anywhere without Adam’s permission.”

“Yes, Mom.”

“And when he’s in class you wait right outside or stay in the library if he tells you where it is.”

“I know, Mom.”

“When he leaves, you leave. No hanging around, okay?”

“Yes, Mom,” Annemarie automatically replied. There was the sound of a door opening, then shuffling footsteps. Adam slid past the two before stopping at the front door, kicking on his sneakers. After that, he gave his mother and sister a big grin before proclaiming, “I am ready to get my learning cap on!”

“I believe the proper term is _thinking cap_ ,” Annemarie corrected. Adam stuck his tongue out at her before retorting, “Nerd.”

“Wait!” Wendy hurried up, held her son by the shoulders, “Let me look at my boy,” her voice shook as she said proudly, “Starting his bachelor’s degree. So handsome.”

“When have I ever _not_ been handsome, Mom?” Adam grinned.

“Ninth grade,” Annemarie mumbled, earning another look from her brother, “Hey! I had oily skin and puberty makes you break out! Besides, ever hear of the tale of _the ugly duckling_?”

“It’s not delivery, it’s DiGiorno with that pizza face,” Annemarie sang, giggling. Adam snatched her hat, put it on his head. It looked comically small on him as he retorted, “Keep it up or you’ll stay home.”

“All right, you two, enough,” Wendy chuckled again, “Now, Adam, sweetheart, good luck on your first day. Keep an eye on your sister, okay?”

“You got it, Mom.”

“And don’t let her wander off on her own.”

“Sure.”

“Do _not_ leave her by herself while you hang out with your friends.”

“Mom, unless my friends took a cross-country flight to New York, I doubt that’ll happen.”

“And behave yourself. You’re there for class, not girls.”

“Girls sweeten the deal, Mom. Don’t you want to be a grandmother one day?”

Wendy shook her head, waved him off, “Okay, no, I don’t need to hear about what my son is doing! No grandkids for me yet, please! Use a condom!”

“I’ve already got some packed.” Adam deadpanned.

Annemarie looked in horror, “ _Ew_!”

He laughed at that, ruffled his sister’s hair before putting her hat back on her head, “I’m just messing around, guys. Anyway, I’ve gotta jet. Let’s go, Anne!”

“Right, and I’ve got to get to work,” Wendy kissed them both, “Love you! Stay safe!”

“Yeah, Mom, love you too,” the siblings stated in unison.

Wendy gave them her last kisses before leaving, the apartment door slamming shut with a final _thud._ It was at that moment Annemarie chose to glance at her brother, who was fixing his hair before they got ready to leave themselves. When he had been accepted into ESU, a part of her didn’t want him to leave their home in Orange County. The idea of living without her big brother after years of living in the same roof made her feel terribly lonely.

Of course, that was before their mother had cheerfully accepted a job in New York as an accountant in the National Bank. Instead of spending extra money for a dorm, Adam opted to live in their new apartment in Brooklyn while he commuted to school. Annemarie practically begged to go with them, the idea of New York entrancing her. They’d left their father behind as he began remodeling a huge client’s mansion in Los Angeles with his team of contractors. He had happily waved goodbye, telling them he would follow in another nine months. Annemarie secretly hoped he would stay. Her father was never a big city person anyway. Maybe they could travel to California only during the summer while they attended school in New York. That seemed like a nice arrangement.

“Anne of Green Gables!” she was snapped out of her thoughts by Adam waving a hand in her face, “Ready to go? I can’t be late on the first day of class!”

She nodded, “I’m ready. Let’s get going!”

~

Annemarie made sure Adam locked the door instead of forgetting as usual. It took Adam a good ten minutes to find the subway, another five to fill both their MetroCards with the right amount of fare, and fifteen minutes waiting for their train. Adam frequently checked the time, mumbling to himself how he didn’t want to be late on his first day. Noticing his uneasiness, Annemarie punched his upper arm, “We’ll be fine. I’ve carefully timed the trip.”

“You’ve never even taken the trip before, Anne.” Adam remarked, looking down at her. She used to reach his shoulders. Then, around eighth grade, he had a massive growth spurt, leaving him a full foot taller than her. He frequently teased her about it, calling her a _midget_ or his personal favorite, _dumpling._ “How could you’ve possibly timed the trip?”

“I spent some time researching the subway times after we managed to fish out my laptop while we unpacked,” Annemarie explained, “The 6 train takes around fifteen minutes to arrive at this particular station. Estimating the time between the local stops to the one we need to get off on, it should take approximately twenty-six minutes and thirty-seven seconds.” When Adam gawked at her in disbelief, she quickly added,

“Provided there isn’t any signal problems at Canal Street, people in a rush blocking the doors from closing in an attempt to catch this particular train, or any other residual delays.”

“Jesus, Anne, I swear you’re a walking encyclopedia,” Adam grumbled, peering down the tracks in search of those two headlights signifying a train’s arrival. “Mom should’ve named you Britannica. Actually, no. You’re a smartphone. I’m gonna start calling you Siri.” His eyes lit up as he quickly retracted his statement, “Wait, no. _Android_ phone. You’re Anne-droid!” He snickered at his joke.

Annemarie rolled her eyes at the nickname, “Wow. That was really lame.”

Sure enough, the headlights appeared, and the train began pulling in. Adam shrugged, “ _You’re_ lame,” he mumbled before stepping back, waiting for the train to come to a full stop before the doors opened. As they stepped on, Adam quickly found a seat, tugging his sister to sit while he stood over her, holding the overhead pole. He sighed, tugged on his earphones as the train doors closed. He was scrolling through music on his phone when the train pulled out and he stumbled. Annemarie quickly grabbed him by the bottom of his jacket to he didn’t collide into anyone.

“Way to go, Mr. Graceful,” she grumbled. Adam shot her a look before he was lost in some old rock song. She fondly shook her head before reaching into her bag and tugging out a book to read.

~

Precisely twenty-six minutes and thirty-seven seconds later, Annemarie had to tug at her brother again as he looked down at her through his music. She had nodded towards the door to signify this was their stop, and he sprang into action. He yanked her up and they flew out of the train. He tugged off his earphones as he looked around the station, seeing multiple signs leading to multiple exits.

“The hell? Northwest exit? Southwest exit? Underpass to the downtown side? Where the hell do I go?” he asked.

“Don’t you remember from when you went to orientation?” Annemarie demanded sternly, resting her hands on her hips as the morning rush hour commuters plowed past them at almost inhuman speeds. Some collided into them, and when they hit her in particular Adam would tug her close and shoot the passerby a look before resuming his decision making.

He shook his head, “I don’t, actually. All I remember is Joanna.”

Annemarie raised an eyebrow, “Joanna?”

Adam seemed distracted, looking at each of the signs, “Yeah, the campus tour guide, some sophomore majoring in hospitality. Man, she was cute as hell, Anne…”

He bit his lip, still lost. Annemarie took charge and tugged them to the northwest exit, “Only you would remember a cute girl. Loser.” She replied, “What time does your class start again?”

“8:15,” he replied, checking his phone, “Shit, I’ve only got twenty minutes!”

They moved faster, climbing two long flights of stairs until they hit the sidewalk. Thankfully they stood in front of a tall gray building where other students around Adam’s age began hurrying in.

“Oh, thank sweet baby Jesus, I remember this building,” Adam mumbled, “This is where the main building is. And I think my first class is in there.” He turned to face her, jabbed a thumb behind them, “Library’s right behind us. Big old building.”

Annemarie turned, gasped at the huge old building lined with columns and stairs that took up almost half the block. There were students running in, older men and women calmly striding in with bags in hand, and passerby regarding the amazing old building before going about their business.

“So, listen, Anne, I gotta go,” he gave her a quick hug, knelt down to her height, “Stay in the library, okay? My first break’s at noon, so I’ll come pick you up then. We’ll have pizza or something and then I’ve got animal biology at one. Stay put, okay? If you need me, text me.”

“Okay.” she nodded, not afraid of being left alone, “Good luck, loser.”

“You only wish you were me. You’ve got lame ol’ high school in another two weeks.” He teased, “Stay safe, dumpling.”

“Later, pizza roll,” she gave a grin before he quickly hurried across the street and into the building. Once he was safely inside, Annemarie eagerly hurried into the library.

~

Despite their differences, Adam Abbey never found his sister strange with her fascination of classic literature and science. He never looked at her funny when she calculated how many calories he would need per day if he wanted to make the soccer team. He didn't raise an eyebrow when she found his cell phone in the bathroom where he often left it. The only thing that outright disturbed him was how she gleefully ate a slice of pizza with pineapples on them.

Every. Single. Time.

“Pineapples don't belong on pizza,” Adam grumbled as he sprinkled red peppers and hot sauce on the four plain slices sitting in paper plates on a red tray. His sister glared at him, nibbling cutely on her pizza as she held the paper plate underneath to catch any grease. Once she finished her bite she retorted, “Says the dork who pours half a bottle of hot sauce on his slices.”

“I like it hot!” Adam protested, opening his can of soda and chugging half of it down in one gulp. Annemarie cringed at the carbonated, sugary drink, “Soda is bad for you, you know.”

“So are the McDonald’s snack wraps, but I eat those anyway and look how healthy I am.”

“Just because you don't gain weight doesn't mean you're healthy! Seriously, you could benefit from cutting out soda and switching to something healthier, like those green smoothies you used to drink.” Annemarie giggled when Adam made a disgusted face,

“Key words being _used to drink._ The crap I did to get into the high school football team was torture, Anne. That stuff tasted like plants and fertilizer. It’s like if you drank that weedkiller they sell at Lowe’s.”

“Spinach and kale are kind of supposed to taste plant-y, Adam.”

“ _Plant-y?_ How about like eating dirt? No thanks.” Adam shuddered, “Besides, we only have one life, might as well indulge!” He lifted his can and proclaimed, “Yolo!”

Annemarie laughed, “Did I seriously just hear you say _yolo?”_

“Lighten up on me, I need a hobby.” Adam retorted, “We’ve been in New York for only about a few weeks now and I'm all fidgety. I'm gonna look into joining a club or something.” He reached into his pocket to check his phone only for his sister to beat him to the punch, “It's 12:30. You're running on schedule.”

“Seriously, do you read minds?”

“No, you're just really scatterbrained, so it's up to me to keep you on track.” Annemarie teased. She squeaked when Adam flung a napkin at her, “I prefer to think of myself as constantly indulging on life’s many different facets.” He replied.

“Scatterbrained,” Annemarie whispered as she finished her slice, leaving only the crust behind. Adam snatched it up and began eating it, causing her to eye him oddly. “You can neffur waysh foo, Anne.” He spoke with his mouth full. She tried not to be too grossed out at the sight of him eating so much food,

“So what class do you have at one again?” she asked.

He chewed for a few moments before swallowing loudly and then gulping down the last of his soda before answering, “Animal biology. I didn’t want to take regular bio. I mean, come on, I’m pretty sure I know how my body works. If I have to pee, I pee. If I have gas, I fart. I mean, it’s pretty straightforward. Animals are a different story, though. Thought it’d be cool to take.”

The idea of animal biology fascinated Annemarie, “Really? Can I go with you?”

“I forgot all that science stuff’s your thing. But no,” Adam shook his head before hesitating, “I mean...I don’t even know if I can. You aren’t even an enrolled student. I don’t want to get in trouble with the professor on my first day.”

“I can sit in the back!” Annemarie pleaded, “Sit and keep my head down! I won’t even talk to you, so you can act cool with your friends.”

He gave her a weird look, “I’m not worried about what my asshole friends think. Besides, they’re just my classmates at this point. But no, it’s not that. Apparently, the professor I have takes roll call and he’s pretty perceptive. He’ll notice you never raised your hand or said _here_ during roll call.”

“Maybe you can ask him before class starts?” Annemarie bit her lip, the thought of an advanced college course in animal biology too exciting a prospect for her, “Please, Adam?”

Adam rolled his eyes, sighed as Annemarie gave the best puppy look she could manage, “Pleeeeeeease?”

“All right, fine, I’ll _ask_ him before class starts.” Adam huffed out in resignation, “If he actually says yes, do _not_ interrupt the lesson, no matter what. But if he says no, you sit right outside. No arguing, okay?”

Annemarie beamed, “I have the best older brother a girl could ask for.”

“Yeah, yeah, you owe me,” Adam grumbled. “If I get an F for this course at the end of the semester because of this, I’m blaming you.”

“You’re overreacting. I doubt your professor’s _that_ mean. Who is he, anyway? Do they tell you your teachers in college?” She asked innocently. She wished she could finish high school already and just begin college. It seemed to her college students had much more freedom than in high school. Spending time in the library as Adam took his morning classes was fascinating enough. Books she’d never even seen before, books as big as her head on any and every subject. Older editions of literary classics, all complete with mahogany desks, well-polished wooden chairs, subtle lighting, and of course, the smell of old ink and paper. It was heaven on earth for Annemarie, so much so that when Adam found her curled up with five books beside her in a corner, she begged him to let her stay the whole day. He wasn’t having it, not when she needed to eat.

Adam shook his head, “Nah, but they’ve only got maybe two professors that teach animal bio in particular. One of them only does evening classes, which— _absolutely not,_ I don’t take evening classes. So that narrows it down to the only other dude. Think his name’s…Connors? Yeah, Curt Connors.”

Annemarie was in the middle of drinking her iced tea, and upon hearing the name she almost choked, coughing and catching her breath before meeting her brother’s eyes, “Did you say _Curt Connors_?”

“Yeah, who the hell is he?” Adam handed her a napkin, looking rather amused at how his sister’s eyes were wide and bright with even more excitement than before.

“ _Adam!_ Dr. Curt Connors is only one of the leading _experts_ in mutagenics and biochemistry! I didn’t know he was teaching here!!” Annemarie was practically shaking, “I _have_ to be there!”

The very idea that Curt Connors was teaching her brother’s next class practically made Annemarie’s day. She had read most of his reports and research papers on regenerating human limbs, perhaps relying on animal DNA and stem cells to recreate lost limbs for amputees or even cure disease. Being so close to one of her scientific idols was just too exciting to resist crashing Adam’s class.

“Well, it depends on if he says yes to you rudely crashing his class, which I doubt if you’re saying he’s such an expert. Probably a snooty guy.”

“Not at all!” Annemarie scoffed, “I’ve watched documentaries and interviews with him on YouTube and he seems like a smart and nice man!”

“Let’s see how nice he is when I ask if you can sit in.” Adam retorted.

~

The lecture hall was huge, far bigger than Annemarie anticipated it to be. As students filed past her and Adam as they remained near the doorway, her eyes were wide as she took in the rows of seats, gradually elevating higher and higher, almost like a theater of some sorts. The front of the room held three rows of whiteboard on the wall with a projector sitting in the corner. The desk was white and she already spotted papers and an attendance sheet. As students took their seats, Adam walked in and sat in the first row in the middle seat closest to the front. Annemarie remained standing, studying the faces of students talking amongst themselves or taking out their notebooks. It looked as if the only seat available was in the back, way up top next to a guy already napping at his desk. She bit her lip, ignored the students eyeing her oddly as Adam spoke to her, “When he gets here, I’ll ask before he starts the lesson. Remember what I said.”

She nodded, biting her lip in anticipation as she eyed the door, waiting for Curt Connors to walk in. As she continued shifting her weight from one foot to the other, Adam dutifully had his binder open and ready to go, and he too began glancing at the door, waiting.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, a man in a lab coat entered, and Annemarie knew it was Connors. He looked to be at least in his forties, with thinning brown hair poking about in different directions. He wore large glasses, held several books in his left hand. The right sleeve of his lab coat was tied into a knotted ball, earning a murmur from the students wondering why he only appeared to have one arm. He was checking his watch when he stopped at the desk, straightened out his hair and looked up to his class.

Just as he was about to speak, Annemarie could barely contain herself as she let out a high-pitched squeal.

The entire class grew quiet, and as the students all turned to look at her, as did Connors, Annemarie felt her cheeks heat up in embarrassment. When she heard a giggle, she almost moved to leave, only for Adam to stand. He gently took his sister’s arm as he hurried up to the front desk. Surprisingly, Connors didn’t look deterred, simply curious as he adjusted his glasses.

“Hi, uh…” Adam was better at talking to strangers than Annemarie was, so she was grateful that he opted to speak first. She would become shy and fumble with her words, would begin prattling about on whatever tickled her fancy (usually science or literature). Instead, she kept her eyes downcast as he spoke in a hushed voice,

“Sorry, sir. Um, my name’s Adam Abbey. I’m...obviously one of your students, but, uh, this is my little sister. I’m keeping an eye on her today and...she’s a big fan of your work. I know it’s kind of a stretch, but is it all right if she sits in your class today?”

Connors paused, cleaned his glasses as he studied the two. He remained expressionless, his blue-eyed gaze traveling from Adam to the much shorter Annemarie. Then at last, he gave a polite smile, nodding his head to Adam, “Well, Mr. Abbey, I don’t see a problem with it. Learning has no age limits.”

Annemarie’s eyes shot up to his, wide in wonder. Adam gently pinched his sister’s side before giving a relieved grin, “Thank you, sir. Sorry for the interruption.”

Connors waved a hand as if to say it was fine before he glanced down the papers. Adam shot her a wink before Annemarie eagerly climbed up the stairs to the last available seat. As she sat, the guy sleeping began to snore. Connors didn’t miss it, eyeing him briefly before proclaiming, “Good afternoon, everyone! Welcome to Animal Biology. As you know, my name is Dr. Curtis Connors, and I will be your professor this semester.” He took out several pink sheets of paper, handed them to Adam, “The syllabus for this course will be passed around while I go over attendance. When I call your name, please raise your hand.”

Roll call passed without incident, save for Connors calling a _Matthews, Jacob_ only to receive no response except for the snoring in the back of the room. “I’m safely presuming that is my sleeping student…” he mumbled as the class gave way to low sniggers. The other incident was regarding a _Miss Abbey_ after the list of names was complete, and Annemarie had dutifully raised her hand, despite not officially being part of the class. Once he concluded with his routine, Connors wasted no time,

“Now, as today is the first day of classes, I actually prefer _not_ to dive into a lecture right away, but merely to introduce the class and keep it simple. I am aware the class lasts two hours, though I will not be keeping you that long today, perhaps an hour at most.” Upon hearing the excited murmurs of tired students, Connors raised an eyebrow, “Don’t get used to it. After today I will be keeping you for the full two hours as promised, with a twenty-minute break in between. Also, as you can see in your syllabus, I only require one textbook for this course. The university bookstore sells a hardcover for fifty-five dollars, but I find it to be rather expensive. I personally recommend buying an older paperback edition from the secondhand bookstore on 37th. Not much has changed from the older editions, simply a few footnotes here and there. I am not adverse to you downloading a PDF file of it either, as long as you pay attention in my class and don’t use your laptops or tablets for surfing the Web or…the Twitter, whatever the fad is these days...”

Another excited murmur came about the class at that.

“You may bring in food and drink if you so wish during lectures. I understand we are here for a while and hunger and thirst do not make way for proper scientific thought. As long as you clean up after yourself, we should be just fine. However, for our Friday labs, _do not_ bring food or beverage for obvious reasons.” He eyed a student in the middle of the room, a young girl with pink hair and a pierced nose with her hand raised, “Yes, Miss…” he glanced at the attendance sheet before saying, “Miss Rowan?”

The girl looked almost surprised at how quickly he learned her name before biting her lip and quietly asking, “Sir, if it’s okay to ask...I don’t wanna make things weird, but--!”

“You want to know about this.” Connors gave a knowing grin, gestured to the limp sleeve on his right side. “I suppose if we’re getting to know each other, the elephant in the room should be addressed. I was away in Afghanistan before I came to teaching. An enemy bomb caused me to lose my arm.”

There was a hushed silence now, perhaps none of them sure what to say. Connors broke the silence quickly, “What matters is I’m in one piece...mostly,” he quickly added wryly.

He cleared his throat after a beat, clearly wanting to change the subject, “As I was saying...quizzes will occur every other Wednesday before my lecture begins. I also speak quite a bit, so be prepared to take plenty of notes. Finally, this class is a science course, and while I understand the need to be practical, I also encourage you all to think outside the box. Apply yourselves, learn as much as you can. Science, above all, is about the pursuit of greater things. If you have questions, feel free to ask them in this classroom. If you’re struggling and need further explanation, my office hours are on your syllabus. I also check my e-mails every hour. Does anyone have any further questions?”

He was met with silence and shaking heads. Annemarie found herself amazed at how he could keep the entire classroom silent and listening. She was bristling with excitement now, prepared for whatever he would begin speaking about in his first lecture. She already took out her little notebook and a pencil, ready to transcribe his every word.

“Very well, then, I’ll keep our first lecture short today. Start taking notes, everyone.”


	2. Two

It had become a habit for Peter Parker to spend his lazy summer days using Uncle Ben’s old camera to take photos of whatever tickled his fancy. He would wander aimlessly, take pictures of people who seemed busier, better, and happier than he felt he was.

He urged Aunt May he was perfectly fine, and there were days he certainly _felt_ fine. But there were days like today, days when just being a secret superhero wasn’t enough. And it baffled him. To his practical, scientific mind, he _knew_ it didn’t make sense - he was able to lift things heavier than he’d ever even attempted lifting before. His reflexes surprised even him, catching something thrown in the air without even looking up. His senses were so heightened it felt as if he’d spent the first years of his life in a dull haze before now – despite the occasional sensory overload.

So why was he still unhappy? Why did he still feel as if he was stuck in a rut?

His wrists were itching again as he kept the camera around his neck, holding onto the pole of the 7 train after giving up his seat to an elderly woman. Peter winced, tried not to reach up and scratch, out of fear of exposing his freshly repaired web-shooters hiding under his hoodie sleeves. He could feel the odd stares, people wondering why the hell a kid was wearing a hoodie in ninety-degree weather. Nevertheless, he wiggled his wrist here and there to alleviate the itch.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, and Peter fished it out to find a text from his friend, Ned Leeds.

_First meeting for the school newspaper’s gonna be after school on the first day back. You still my photographer, man? Let me kno._

He let out a sigh. After Uncle Ben, Peter had temporarily stopped going to his extracurricular activities. Not that he had much anyway – the decathlon and the school newspaper for Ned’s benefit. It was funny how everyone seemed to notice him _after_ Uncle Ben had passed away. He hated the looks of pity, he especially hated how Flash Thompson even gave him two weeks free from being stuffed into a locker every sixth period. He didn’t want pity--he already felt worse about it as it was.

He replied with one hand, _yeah count me in. see you then._

He wasn’t sure whether to look forward to the new school year up ahead or dread it further with the conflict school and his new double life would present. On the one hand, school was a welcome distraction from his blank thoughts. On the other, he certainly hoped bad guys had the sense to commit crimes _after_ school hours – Principal Morita almost suspended him with how much class he missed. Either way, Peter knew better than to push his luck. If he didn’t fail any courses during the year, he’d do fine. He did want to get into a good university at least.

He let out a sigh, closed his eyes and silently pleaded,

_Normal year. Please just let me have a normal year._

With his new habits, however, he knew the probability of having said normalcy was highly unlikely.

~

By the time Dr. Connors had finished his lecture, Annemarie had written eight pages’ worth of notes, adding a few bits and pieces in the margins. She also added fun facts that she had learned from watching his documentaries and reading his research papers. As the class hurried to leave, perhaps relieved to finish their first day of animal biology, Annemarie only wanted to know more. These eight pages were not enough in her eyes.

As the students filed out behind her, she spotted Adam, still sitting with his binder open and trying to write whatever he could remember. Connors wasn’t kidding. He did speak rather quickly, and Annemarie was lucky to be able to keep up. Her brother, on the other hand, often used pictures and repetition to learn. A part of her worried for him. He had big dreams, and she didn’t want him failing in any class. She grabbed her stuff, scrambled up to the front row and sat beside him on a left-handed desk.

“Are you okay? Do you want to read over my notes?”

Adam ran a hand through his messy hair, “I hate to admit it, but yeah.” He eagerly grabbed her notebook as he began copying, “Man, the guy talks stupidly fast. I can barely keep up.”

“As I said, Mr. Abbey, my office hours are open, and I am more than happy to help if you’re confused with anything.” Both siblings looked up in surprise upon finding Connors had not left his post.

“It’s okay, Dr. Connors, he’s borrowing my notes,” Annemarie gave a polite smile, “I’ll make sure he stays informed.”

Connors gave a smile of his own, more impressed than amused, “How considerate of you, Miss Abbey. However, I do not expect you’ll be present in all of my lectures.”

Annemarie frowned, realizing he was right. She heard Adam groan, perhaps not too thrilled about the prospect of having to write his notes alone. She bit her lip, asked, “Do you have another lecture, Dr. Connors? You...haven’t left the lecture hall yet.”

Connors shook his head, beginning to put his papers away, “No, Miss Abbey, my lectures for today are finished. I simply prefer not to rush. We miss the finer things in life if we do so. Though you are welcome to accompany me to my office if you are still confused about my lecture.”

Adam merely kept writing, his handwriting a chicken scratch compared to his sister’s bold and neat print.

“Do you teach every day, Dr. Connors?” Annemarie asked, her eyes wide in wonder.

“Oh, yes, every day, including a Saturday morning lecture. The only day I choose to indulge in my television shows is Sunday,” Connors chuckled, finished packing.

Annemarie glanced at her brother, still quickly copying, and asked, “What time are your Saturday classes?”

Connors raised a curious eyebrow, “My classes on Saturdays begin at nine in the morning, sharp.”

“And are they the same as my brother’s?”

“Mr. Abbey’s classes would be at least one lecture ahead of the Saturday classes, as they meet twice a week. Though, yes, they are the same.”

“Would it be all right if I sat in for those classes, Dr. Connors?” Annemarie pleaded, “I think it would be a great honor and a privilege to learn from you.” She ignored Adam’s noise of shock beside her and continued,

“Not only would I be learning, but perhaps I’d be able to help my brother with my own notes. I promise I won’t get in the way. Plus, it’d be convenient! I start school soon, but it’s only Monday through Fridays!”

Connors started, clearly caught off guard at the request. It took him a moment as he stuttered out, “Well, Miss Abbey, I should--I should say my course can get rather difficult. And it’s a commitment. Though you are not an enrolled student, I would expect dedication by coming to all lessons and labs as needed.”

He looked even more surprised at her determined reply, “Yes, sir. I’ll gladly do so. I promise I won’t get in the way.”

Connors paused, and his eyes flickered from both Adam to Annemarie in surprise. “Well, again, I’m not one to refuse someone who is willing to learn. I will allow it. Mr. Abbey, you are also invited to attend a Saturday lecture if you are still confused.”

Adam could only grunt in response. Annemarie tried not to squeal in glee. Attending Dr. Curtis Connors’ lectures would be an enriching experience, she was sure. “Thank you, Dr. Connors! I promise you; you won’t regret it!”

Connors chuckled, “I don’t. It’s not often someone as young as yourself wants to attend my lectures for free.”

Adam let out a cheer as he slammed his binder shut, finished with his notes. He looked up, “Uh...thanks, sir!”

“Not a problem, Mr. and Miss Abbey. First lecture is this Saturday at nine.” Connors replied before giving a nod and leaving them.

Adam turned, looked at his sister, “Hey, Anne?”

She was too busy ogling the door in which Connors walked out of, “Hmm?”

“He thinks you’re smarter than me. You totally stole my thunder.” he teased, eliciting a smack on the shoulder from her.

“I didn’t do anything! It’s not _my_ fault you got lucky and got one of the most brilliant minds in science! How can I squander this opportunity! And he’s so nice! I can’t _wait_ to go to his lectures.”

Adam sighed, hoisting his bag over his shoulder as he nodded his head towards the door, “C’mon, Anne, we’re done for today. Let’s head home.”

“I wish I could go to college instead of high school…” Annemarie grumbled as she followed her brother. “Get to have cool professors...classes are _way_ more exciting here!”

“Wait till they start bogging me down with tests and papers,” Adam replied dryly, “I can’t wait for the existential dread to sink in.”

“Don’t worry, Adam! I’ll attend Dr. Connors’ lectures and help you with your notes!”

Adam sighed, snatched her hat from her head and put it on himself, “What would I do without the best baby sister a guy could ask for?”

Annemarie frowned in mock thought before replying, “Crash and burn.”

“...Seriously, it’s so weird how you’re like a computer.”

“Adam! Don’t ruin the moment!”

He chuckled, merely ruffled her hair in response, earning a disgruntled squeak from her as she tried to fix her mane.

~

Not for the first time, Wendy called out to her children, her voice echoing throughout their apartment, “Adam! Annemarie! Breakfast is ready!”

In one bedroom, Adam was snoring loudly, still asleep after spending the entire night studying, his college career already in full swing just two weeks later. In the opposite bedroom down the hall, the younger Abbey sibling was busy fussing over what to wear on her first day at a new school in New York City.

She had been up since 4:45 in the morning, too anxious and excited to sleep, but also preparing herself for an important day. She had been enrolled into the Midtown High School of Science and Technology weeks ago, so thankfully there wouldn’t be an awkward scene where she would stand in front of a classroom introducing herself. While Annemarie enjoyed the prospect of blending in, she still wanted a seamless transition into her life in New York. She’d had a few friends in Orange County, but not enough to establish any real connections. Most of them only used her for homework help or cheating on her tests. Annemarie didn’t particularly mind this, as she preferred being alone. Besides, she went to a smaller school and wasn’t very fond of her old classmates anyway.

Sighing, Annemarie pulled out a light blue top, laid it beside a pair of dark jeans, brown leather boots, and a beige cardigan. It didn’t look too exciting for her, so she groaned, laid out a different top and bottom set. She continued mixing and matching, barely registering her mother’s voice calling out,

“Either you guys eat your breakfast or you’ll have to take it to go!”

“Coming, Mom!” Annemarie called back, nibbling on her pinky nail. She swore inwardly as she realized she’d forgotten to paint her nails the night before. She was busy looking up Dr. Connors’ newest research documentaries. Finally deciding to remain practical due to the autumn chill, Annemarie settled on a burgundy sweater, black skinny jeans, and grey leg warmers poking out under black lace-up boots. She kept her makeup minimal, sticking to eyeliner and lip balm, made sure her hair was perfectly straight before she added the final touch of her signature black bowler hat.

Nodding at her reflection, Annemarie burst out of her room just as Adam opened his door, his hair all over the place, looking like he woke up from the dead. She gave him a look before hurrying into the kitchen, where Wendy sighed, “About time, you two! I didn’t want to eat without you both! I made pancakes!”

“ _Food_ …” Adam groaned sleepily as he plopped into the nearest chair. He was wolfing them down as soon as he was served. Annemarie cringed at how rapidly he ate as her plate was set down. “Thanks, Mom…”

Wendy sat at the head of the table, resting a hand over her daughter’s, “So, are you ready for your first day?”

Annemarie gave a smile, “I’m ready for my newest adventure, Mom!”

“That’s my girl, always looking on the bright side,” Wendy gave her hand a squeeze before turning to Adam, “Sweetheart, how about you? Did you sleep well last night?”

Adam merely let out a noise that resembled a reply, and Annemarie couldn’t resist a giggle, “You look like a wind tunnel just blew into your room and sent you flying all over.”

He shot her a death glare before resuming eating, and Wendy asked, “Do you want me to drive you to school, Anne? I think it’ll be quicker than the subway.”

Annemarie shook her head, “I’d rather take the train. Besides, I don’t want you to be late for work!”

“I think you just want to be _cool_ and not be seen with me,” Wendy shook her head knowingly, “but all right. Just be careful traveling. I hear the trains get very crowded and I don’t want you getting trampled.”

“ _Mom_ , I’ll be fine,” Annemarie rolled her eyes dramatically, “I’ve already calculated that, without residual delays, it’ll take me exactly forty-six minutes and seventeen seconds. That gives me time to see the principal and get my locker and my schedule, so I can get right into the flow of things once the rush of students walks in at eight-fifteen!”

“ _Neeeeeeerd_ ,” Adam grumbled into his orange juice, earning a sharp kick from his sister under the table. Wendy muttered, “ _Stop it,_ you two,” before continuing, “are you nervous, sweetie?”

Annemarie shrugged, “Not really. I guess it’s just anticipation. Who knows what this year is going to bring? I’m hoping it’ll be an exciting year and not boring like back home.”

“Either way, just be careful.”

“And actually _have friends_ ,” Adam finally managed to choke out an actual sentence, “Seriously, you almost never went outside, people thought you were a vampire back home.”

Annemarie bit back the urge to kick her brother again. She loved him, but she didn’t want to be reminded about anything to do with back home. The days she spent skipping lunch. The constant stares and giggles. The constant sight of a locked bedroom door –

“I’m gonna be late!” Annemarie burst out of her seat, hurrying to her room to grab her schoolbag. She took her phone and threw it in her bag, which she hoistedover her shoulder. With one last nod, she returned to the dining room. She kissed the top of her brother’s head, muttered a quick goodbye, then hugged and kissed her mother before proclaiming, “Bye! I don’t wanna miss that train!”

As soon as the door gave a finalizing slam, Wendy gave her son a look. Adam merely responded with a confused,

“What?”

~

The train to school was not at all what Annemarie expected. She didn’t anticipate the crowd of people standing practically on top of each other. She didn’t expect the smell of someone’s funky body odor next to her. Judging from the huge crowd she expected a hard time getting off the train, so she opted to remain close to the train doors. She leaned on them when they closed, just before the train would begin moving. She tried not to cringe at the smelly passenger next to her, wanting desperately to take out her book and read. However, there were no seat options and she didn’t have any room to maneuver.

She sighed in annoyance as she calculated how much longer her agonizing train ride would go. As she did so, the train doors opened at another station. Even more people stuffed themselves further in (how was any of this possible?!). Annemarie winced as several people slammed into her bag, sending her in all sorts of different directions before she finally stood still once again.

Just as the train doors began to close, she heard someone shout, “Hey! Wait! No, please! No, nonononono!”

Annemarie quickly found the source of the agonized shout as she watched a boy around her age practically soaring down the subway stairs in a desperate attempt to catch the train. Without even really thinking about it, Annemarie’s arm shot out, blocking the doors from closing. They opened again to clear the obstruction, giving the boy ample time to squeeze into the train. He only had room in front of her just as the doors closed, and with a relieved light in his eyes he uttered a quick, “Thanks!”

She merely nodded and gave a small smile in response, losing her balance as the train jolted into movement. The boy grabbed her arm, and she regained balance. She gave a wider smile in thanks, absently noting he smelled significantly better than the stinky passenger behind her. The train ride didn’t seem too bad after that.

However, as the train ride passed and Annemarie found herself filing past tons of fellow students for assigned homerooms and lockers and so on, she found she suddenly dreaded being surrounded by people she didn’t know. She felt paranoid as students glanced her way, mumbling to their friends after a year of already knowing each other. Were they talking about her? Were they already judging her? She wished her sweater would grow bigger somehow and hide her. She studied the papers given to her at the front desk, discovering English was her first class of the day and her locker was a 17E, the last one by the fire extinguisher on the second floor. Annemarie sighed, walked past everyone and tried not to meet anyone’s eyes. It felt as if everyone was staring at her, even though logically she knew it was not the case.

She made it to her locker just as the first bell rang, and she fiddled with the combination lock, tugged at the door, only to receive nothing in return.

She frowned and tried again, but the door still didn’t budge.

“No, no, no…” she mumbled, her heart falling in panic as she yanked and yanked. The last thing she wanted was to be late to her first class on her first day. “Stupid... _door…_ ”

Just as she felt frustrated tears sting the corners of her eyes, a hand slammed twice on the top of her locker door, then once on the bottom. After that, her locker door creaked open, revealing old punk rock band posters and a musty smell.

Grateful, Annemarie turned to her left, found the very same boy she held the train doors for beside her, stuffing his bag into the locker next to hers. He gave a gamely shrug and said,

“Yeah, that one’s kind of rough to open. Just do what I did, and it should open, no problem. No one’s really used it in a while, so it’s kind of temperamental.”

“Oh, my _gosh,_ thank you _so_ much,” she blurted out, immediately putting her things away, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“No problem,” he muttered, giving a smile back.

She gave him a smile before locking her locker, chirping, “Have a nice day!” before scurrying off to English. _What a nice guy…_

~

It was safe to say Peter was having a pretty decent first day, despite believing it would be a train wreck. He woke up late, missed breakfast, and almost missed his train only for a girl to hold the doors open for him.

He really wanted to pay attention in History, but it was just so. _Boring._ The teacher was already prattling on about a better year and comparing it to similar times in history to make it seem like an actual lesson. Peter found himself on his phone instead, hiding it under the desk as he read the newest news articles talking about Spider-Man. Most of them labelled him as a public menace, and he winced at that.

However, as he searched the hashtag on Twitter, he found people taking fuzzy photos, talking about how amazing and badass he was. One tweet talked about how brave he was saving an old lady from bank robbers back in July. Peter found himself smiling at that one, only for the bell to ring, signifying the end of first period. He let out a sigh as he glanced at his schedule. Next up was Chemistry, a class he (thankfully) enjoyed. Maybe he could start up on some web fluid.

As he passed the teacher’s desk on the way out, he jumped upon hearing the teacher proclaim, “And keep your phone in your pocket, Parker.”

He winced, mumbled a “yes, sir,” before hurrying out and heading to the science labs.

By the time he got into class most of the seats were full, friends sitting with friends. He tried very hard not to notice he had this class with Liz Allan, who looked stunning as always as she talked with one of her friends. She had a green sweater on, and she looked so beautiful with her gorgeous hair and pretty eyes and –

Peter hurried to the nearest available seat as the late bell rang, almost tripping in the process. Just as he got situated their chemistry teacher walked in, attendance sheet in hand. She was already preparing to start a basic lesson on the scientific method when he felt a tap on his arm.

“Hey,” it was the person he sat next to. His eyes widened in recognition as it was the very same girl who held the train doors open for him, the same girl whose locker he helped open earlier. He was a bit relieved to see somewhat of a familiar and (seemingly) friendly face. She bit her lower lip, almost anxious as she whispered, “Do you have an extra pencil or something? I forgot my pencil case in my rush to class.”

“Uh, yeah, sure…” he mumbled, fishing an extra pencil out of his case and handing it to her.

She gave him a bright smile, “You’re a lifesaver, thank you. I’ll give it back after class, I promise.”

He shrugged, “Uh...okay...cool…”

They both remained silent for the rest of the period, taking notes as their teacher babbled on.


	3. Three

As soon as he entered the cafeteria, Peter was relieved to see Ned Leeds already at a table and waving for him to sit. At least he didn't need to awkwardly sit in the library this year. The instant Peter sat down Ned slapped him a high five in greeting. “Hey, man! Aw, I'm so happy we got lunch together, dude, I've got _loads_ to tell you!” He blurted out, clearly excited about something. Ned had very little that excited him outside of Star Wars, so Peter knew this had to be good. He eyed the unappetizing school lunch before asking, “What's up?”

“So, the first meeting for the school paper is Friday and I already have _the literal best_ front-page headline ever.” Ned held up his hands, ran them over an imaginary billboard as he proclaimed, “ _Spider-Man: Hero or Villain?_ ” He grinned, “What d’you think? I mean, I have the article ready, but I could use a pretty awesome photo! Interested?”

There was no point in saying no. Ned would find a way to egg him into doing it anyway. Besides, a selfie never hurt anyone. Peter sighed, “Yeah, sure.”

“You are the literal best!! So, tell me about your schedule. Do we have any classes together or what?” Ned pulled out his schedule while Peter handed him his own, and he compared the two for a moment, “We only have, like, two classes together besides lunch. _Man_. However,” he smacked Peter’s arm, “You might wanna know I got History with _Liz_ third period.”

Finally, a subject Peter was particularly interested in, “Yeah, I got Chemistry with her. Aw, man, she got a new top, and she looks great…”

“Doesn't she? Ah, Liz. Beauty _and_ brains, an amazing combination. However, I think she’s got a little competition. There's another girl I've got English with, and she's pretty cute too.”

Peter raised an eyebrow, “Really?”

“Yeah, she's a new student from California, apparently. She is cute, dude. Always wears this hat. She's quiet, though. I tried to say hi but she kinda just looked away all shy and stuff. I forgot her name...I think it's Abbey? Or something…either way, she's cute. I rank her a solid eight in my book.”

“You're still ranking the chicks, man? Didn't we agree Liz is all that matters?” Peter asked.

“Well, yeah, but hey, it’s best to keep our options open.” Ned suddenly glanced at the door, where the girl from his English class entered. He nudged Peter, nodded in her direction, “That's her. The girl in English. Isn’t she cute?”

Peter followed Ned’s gaze, surprised to see the very same girl he shared Chemistry class with. Her dark eyes searched the sea of students for a seat, and she looked lost, almost forlorn as she held her lunch tray, oddly containing just a carton of chocolate milk and an apple. She seemed almost hesitant, confused. Ned shook his head, “Wish I knew her name for sure...she _is_ a looker…”

She _was_ pretty, Peter had to admit. But he still thought Liz was the prettiest girl in school. He watched as the girl bit her lower lip, turned to leave. Before he could stop himself, Peter stood up, waved, “Hey! You can sit here if you want!”

His eyes widened at his sudden action, and Ned whirled around to look at him with wide eyes, “ _Dude!”_

She furrowed her brow, hesitated before slowly approaching, sitting across from them. “Thank you,” she mumbled shyly, picking up her apple and taking small bites. Ned could only stare, clearly unsure of what to do or say. She appeared confused as well, her eyes downcast as she ate, perhaps afraid of being ridiculed. In turn, Peter wasn't sure what to say, either, merely opting to remain silent.

They remained like that until the bell rang.

~

By the time the last bell rang, signifying the end of an agonizing first day, Annemarie wanted nothing more than to go home, crawl under her blankets and never come out - ever again. She tried to bring herself to talk to others, but she would always lose her nerve. She would look away or find them already looking at her and sniggering. Perhaps she was being paranoid, but either way, Annemarie’s hopes for a brighter year were already dashed as she walked out of the building with her bag in tow and her hair hiding her face. She brushed past groups of friends loudly gossiping and began her trek to the train station.

The ride was quiet and this time she actually had a seat, but Annemarie didn’t particularly feel like reading. Instead, she huddled deeper into herself, hoping that her brother would be home by the time she arrived. Maybe he could give her pointers on how to be social - she was too shy, too awkward, and too doubtful of herself. Adam was always better at making friends anyway. By the time she got off at her stop and made the trek to her apartment building she was already pulling out her keys. When she knocked on her apartment door, a part of her hoped Adam would answer. After three knocks and no answer, Annemarie sighed and let herself in to find an empty apartment covered in silence.

She sighed, dropped her bag on the couch before heading to the kitchen, finding two notes pinned to the door with little Star Trek magnets. One was from Adam, in his sloppy chicken-scratch handwriting, pinned under the Enterprise magnet,

_Hey, Anne! Hope your first day was super awesome! In case you get home before Mom does, let her know I’m going out with some new friends tonight. Karaoke and drinks, here I come!! I should be home by midnight. Mom, if you’re home first and reading this, I promise not to get drunk. Also. Don’t worry, I have condoms. Love you guys! Adam._

Annemarie shuddered at the implications Adam left as her eyes traveled to the next note. Underneath a tiny Spock magnet was a note from her mother,

_Hey guys! Got a call this morning before I got to work. There’s going to be an important meeting, so I’ll be staying late tonight. I should be home by eight. There are hamburger patties in the fridge already seasoned and prepped, just pop them in the oven. I also left twenty dollars in case you cause a kitchen accident, Adam (Anne, sweetie, if you’re reading this, I trust you to use the oven responsibly).. I hope your days were wonderful. Text or call if anything. Love you! Mom xo_

Annemarie eyed the clock on the cable box in the den. 3:57 in the afternoon. She was going to be alone for four hours. Normally it would have been exhilarating to be alone, but after a long day of nothing but being alone, it was disheartening to come home to an empty apartment. Sighing, she grabbed her bag and got started on her homework. She finished her assignments in forty-five minutes, most of it coming easy to her. She managed to prepare herself a burger later as she scrolled through the channels on TV but couldn’t find anything engaging. After briefly watching a commercial featuring a cute puppy, Annemarie finally shut off the TV and decided to head out to the grocery store. They were running low on soda and bread, she noticed. She figured she might as well get it done – she didn’t have much else to do, anyway.

With that, Annemarie grabbed her phone and her keys, as well as the twenty dollars her mother had left behind, and stuffed them in a black wristlet wallet. She headed out, noticing the sun was beginning to set. She began walking the short three-block walk and turned the corner to see the small grocery store that was open twenty-four hours. She was just about to head inside when suddenly a young man turned the corner, running as fast as he could. He wore a black ski mask and he held a bag of who knew what close to his chest.

By the time Annemarie noticed the police officers turn the corner to pursue the man she was suddenly seized by her hair, her hat falling off and her wristlet falling to the ground. She let out a yelp, partially in shock and partially in pain as he yanked her hair so her neck was exposed, and she felt her heart race at the feeling of a cold metal blade pressing against her throat. Many passersby gasped, screamed and began running away as the police stopped, holding up their guns.

“Back off, assholes!” The masked man ordered, “Back off or I slit this little girl’s throat!”

Annemarie’s eyes grew wide, and the tears fell. She just wanted to go to the grocery store. She didn’t want _this_. She tried to break free, but his hold tightened as he began tugging her backwards into an alleyway to ensure his escape.

“Drop your weapon and let the girl go, _now_!” One of the cops demanded.

“Back off first!” The man shot back, yanking her even further. She whimpered, suddenly paralyzed by fear _. What’s going to happen to me?_ It was the only thought running through her head as she was yanked further and further away from her path, and she could only mumble, “P – please…please let me go…”

“Naw, girlie, this is too much fun,” the man mumbled sickly in her ear, causing an involuntary shudder down her spine. She only cried harder and she didn’t see the sudden figure swinging down from a rooftop. He swept downwards and landed on the closed dumpster by them in the alleyway.

“Aw, _hell_ no, not this Spidey guy…” the man holding her mumbled. She heard panicked voices behind them, then her kidnapper yelling, “Back off, Spidey! Unless you want to see this girlie get cut!”

Annemarie blinked her tears away and saw the strangest sight before her. On top of the dumpster was a red and blue, hoodie and sweatpants clad, mask and goggle wearing….wait, _what_? Annemarie widened her eyes in surprise, still trembling. She hissed as the blade pressed further against her skin.

“Hey, that’s no way to treat a lady!” The strange person said, and Annemarie realized it was a boy from his voice. He couldn’t have been much older than her, maybe her age – even younger. “Let her go, man, or I’ll have to get pretty angry.” The boy threatened.

“You ain’t the Hulk, pretty boy,” the man hissed, “now back off!”

It all happened to fast after that. The knife was suddenly gone from her neck, and the man threw her aside, causing her to slam into the brick wall. Annemarie crawled to hide behind the dumpster, covering her ears and closing her eyes. She didn’t want to know what was going to happen. Who knew what that crazy guy was going to do to that poor boy? She began to cry even more, wishing the poor boy had not gotten involved. What if he got hurt? What if the man overpowered him and stabbed him with that knife? Who was this boy anyway?

She let out a scream when she felt hands on her arms, trying to pull her hands away from her ears. Blindly, she began swinging, not wanting to be captured or killed or -

“Hey, whoa, easy there, cutie!” The voice that spoke was significantly younger. She stopped, blinked, and her eyes met the familiar odd-looking goggles of the weirdly dressed boy. She froze then, trembling as she swallowed. Absently, she noted that behind him, the man who’d held her captive was out cold, the knife beside him.

“Hey, hey, look at me,” the boy suddenly had his hands on her face, making her meet his eyes - or rather, the goggles. “Focus. What’s your name?”

She hiccupped, barely spoke, “A--Annemarie…”

“Pretty name for a pretty girl, huh? Are you okay? You’re not hurt, are you?”

“N - no...just…” she couldn’t speak anymore, merely sniffled.

“Okay,” the boy spoke softly, “Annemarie, right? Listen, the cops are gonna be here any minute. Do you want me to stay with you until they come? I gotta go once they do, though, ‘cause they’re not very fond of me…what do you say?”

She shook her head, overwhelmed at the thought of the blaring sirens. The flashing lights. the millions of questions. Then, she thought about how worried and terrified her mother and Adam would be. “N - no, no cops...I - I wanna go home. Please, I just want to go home…”

The boy cocked his head to one side, surprised at her reply, “You sure? You seem rattled. They can probably calm you down. Sometimes they give you a trauma blanket and I’ve heard it’s _really_ comfortable…”

“Please, I just want to go home.” It was then she realized. “My phone. My wallet.” Dread caused her to freeze.

“I’ll get them. Where did you drop them?”

She pointed down the alleyway, where the sirens blared and she heard cops yelling, “Some - somewhere around there…”

“Okay.” He moved suddenly, as if to leave, but Annemarie eyed the unconscious man and seized the boy’s forearm, stopping him, “No! Please - please don’t leave me. Please.”

He stopped, knelt down again as he rested a hand on her shoulder and stroked her hair, “Okay, I won’t. But if you don’t want to see the cops, we’ve got to go now. I’ll take you home, and I’ll make sure I get your stuff, okay? Where do you live?”

For a moment, Annemarie felt relief at the thought of this nameless masked boy saving her life. He had risked his life for hers when she was sure he didn’t have to. It was then her logic kicked in, freshly rebooting from its panicked shutdown, as she realized that _he was a nameless, masked boy. And_ he was asking where she lived. She shook her head, demanded, “No - no, no, who are you, why do you want to-!”

“Annemarie, I’m a friend. I promise. I just want to help you.”

“Who are you?”

“I’m…” he hesitated, his head lowering as if in thought. Finally, he looked up at her again, and she could tell from the sound of his voice that he was smiling, “I’m just your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.”

She eyed the strange, clearly spray-painted design on the front of his sweatshirt, a web with a single spider in the middle. The absurdity of the situation caused her to raise an eyebrow, and she spoke at last, “ _Spider-Man_?”

“Yep! At your service!” He leaned in, lowered his voice to a confidential whisper, “Now, we’ve gotta go if you don’t want the guys in blue to find us. Grab onto me. Do _not_ let go, and hold on tight. Got it?”

He helped her up, suddenly grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close. Absently, Annemarie noticed that he smelled good for a sweater-wearing, bummy-looking masked boy. She instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck. He lifted his free arm, and she noticed a strange, black contraption around his wrist. He pressed something, and a single white strand of -was that _webbing_? - shot out and hit a rooftop overhead. She blinked in surprise as she asked, “Wait, why? What are we-?”

Her question transformed into another surprised yelp as they were suddenly off the ground. And they were swinging overhead past the cops, over innocent people, and they were swinging past buildings, where the cars down below seemed smaller and insignificant. Annemarie looked down briefly and the vertigo set in, the world below her suddenly whirling and spiraling, and she closed her eyes tight, holding onto the boy for dear life as she yelled out, “How are you doing this?!”

“Well, it’s a secret, but you’re kinda cutting off my air supply!” he choked out. Annemarie started, loosened her grip just a bit, “Sorry!”

By the time they landed on some rooftop, Annemarie relished in the feeling of solid ground underneath her feet. However, she wasn’t quite ready to let go of the masked boy, who ran his hands down her arms to reassure her. Then, he studied her to see if she was all right. She was dizzy and overwhelmed, and she still wasn’t even sure where they ended up. The boy began to let go, “Okay, Annemarie...you can stay right here, and I’ll search for your stuff and come right back, okay?”

Just as his hands left her, the dizziness came full force, and Annemarie stumbled. He reacted quickly,

“ _Whoaaaa_ , okay. Easy...hey, focus. It’s kind of a rush, I know, but you need to center yourself. Okay?” He had her face again, made her meet his eyes. “Look at me...breathe...”

The world came back into focus, and she slowly relaxed. “There you go,” he soothed. He backed away slowly, towards the edge of the roof.

“So, tell me what I need to look for and I’ll get it for you!” He said.

“Um...a black wristlet with a Star Trek keychain...and...um…” She bit her lip at her last, rather silly, request, “A black bowler hat? It was a gift from my grandmother…”

“Star Trek keychain, black wristlet and a cute hat? Gotcha. Back in a flash!”

And he was off, swinging on those webs as if they were made of steel, able to hold him up without any problem. She ran to the edge, followed him with her eyes until he was gone, and she found herself amazed. _How the hell did he DO all of that…?_

As quickly as he disappeared, Annemarie spotted him swinging back, and by the time he landed effortlessly on his feet, she found herself asking, “So what is it?”

He cocked his head to one side, “Huh?”

“Spectra fiber? Nickel-based alloy? I know for a fact your... _whatever_ those are...don’t have real spider silk. I doubt they have the durability and strength to do everything you’re doing.”

He paused for a moment before replying, “Uh...top secret! Anyway, I found these. Are they yours?” He held up her familiar wristlet and her hat. Her heart soared at the sight of the hat, and she grabbed them. She briefly checked her wristlet. Everything, including her phone (which was thankfully not broken), was present and accounted for. “Yes!” She sighed in relief before looking at him, “Thank you so very much.”

“Not a problem!” He offered a hand, “Now direct me to your residential quarters, ma’am. I simply cannot leave a cute girl waiting.” He gave the most awkward British accent, causing her to giggle. She prattled off her address before grabbing onto him once again. By the time she got used to the soaring through the skies, she was already at her fire escape. Annemarie peeked in through the window, found the safe confines of her bedroom. She opened her window and crawled in. She eyed her clock. It was 6:45. Her mother and Adam weren’t even home yet. Bewildered, Annemarie realized she had made it home safely. She turned and found the masked boy still crouched on her fire escape. Her heart filled with overwhelming relief and gratitude and she blurted out, “You saved my life.”

“Yeah, that’s uh, kinda my job…” He was shy all of a sudden, resting a hand on the back of his neck. She found it oddly endearing, and she replied,

“Thank you very much, Spider-Man.”

“Uh...sure, no problem. Just...stay safe, okay?”

She nodded, “Oh, believe me, I will. I’m not looking to get killed any time soon.”

He actually chuckled, and she tried not to pay attention to how her heart fluttered at that. “Well, uh...I guess...I’ll see you ‘round, huh?”

“I hope so,” it came out before she could stop herself, “Be careful, Spider-Man.”

In the blink of an eye, he was off. Annemarie stuck her head out her window and watched him go. She watched long after he’d turned a corner and disappeared.

~

Peter effortlessly swung into his bedroom without anyone seeing him and ripped off his mask and goggles as soon as he was inside. He was just getting to the rest of his suit before he heard his Aunt May’s voice call out from the kitchen, “Peter? Did you fall asleep at your desk again? Dinner’s ready!”

His eyes widened at the sound of her approaching footsteps down the hall, and he was blindly ripping off his suit. He was in a panicked frenzy, and he tripped over his feet several times in the process as he managed to get it off. Peter practically threw his makeshift suit in the laundry basket and stuffed a bunch of socks and old t-shirts over it. He slammed the lid over the laundry basket just as his door swung open, revealing May wearing an apron and holding a giant wooden spoon stained with tomato sauce. He straightened up quickly, rested his hands on his hips, “Hey, May,” he greeted as casually as he could muster.

May raised an eyebrow at the sight of her nephew in only his boxers. “I made spaghetti and meatballs, Peter. You ready to eat or not?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll be ready in a sec.”

She nodded, “I’ll wait for you, okay, tough guy?”

“You got it, May.”

“Also…maybe put on some clothes?”

“Uh…sure, May…be right there!”

As soon as May left and he heard she was at a safe distance, he breathed out a sigh of relief and collapsed onto the floor and ran his hands through his hair. He just barely made it back this time. As soon as he’d heard about the jewelry thief escaping police custody, he knew he had to take action. He just hadn’t expected to save a _girl from his school._ The very same girl he had Chemistry with, who he was surprised to see had some semblance of what his webs might be made of. _Damn, she’s smart…_

He was thankful Annemarie didn’t know him well enough to gauge his identity. He was happy he managed to save her, though. She seemed grateful, too. Maybe the news wouldn’t claim he was a menace to New York streets this time around. Peter breathed out another sigh and pulled out the first shirt and pair of pajama pants he could find. Despite being mismatched, he tugged them on and headed into the kitchen, where May gave a bright smile, “Finally! Was practically drooling over my food, you took so long!” As she served him a plate, she continued, “You got so quiet in your room, I thought you fell asleep over your homework. Everything okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, everything’s great, everything’s just fine…” Peter mumbled. He kept his eyes carefully trained on his plate. He tried not to eye the empty seat next to May. The empty seat at the head of the table. He tried to focus on his plate and not how there were two plates served when there should have been three. May frowned at his sudden withdrawal before her eyes dimmed in realization, and she sighed,

“You know...we could always eat in the den.”

Sometimes it scared him how perceptive his aunt could get at times. He managed to stutter out, “Uh, n – no, it’s fine. I’m good.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. Yeah, yeah…” He nodded quickly before he began to eat.

May let out another sigh before she also sat and began to eat. They ate in an awkward silence before she finally asked,

“So...how was school today?”

~

After spending a good chunk of her night researching and gathering as much information about the Spider-Man as she could, Annemarie awoke to a newfound excitement the following day. She cheerfully ate her breakfast and even sang to herself. Her mother and Adam had exchanged a strange glance but opted not to remark on her sudden change in demeanor. Even the train ride wasn’t too bad - Annemarie got a lucky seat during the journey and decided to read the newspaper she had picked up from the table before she left.

Sure enough, on the front page was a blurry photo of the masked Spider-Man swinging from the buildings of New York. However, the headline made her frown.

**_Accomplice in Arms: Masked Menace Assists in Jewel Heist!_ **

“ _What_?” Annemarie gasped out. She immediately scanned the article. Of course, most of it was speculation and public opinion. The article basically told Spider-Man to quit butting his webbed head in situations meant for the cops, and to leave said cops to do their jobs. The article left Annemarie so disgusted she ruffled the paper and rolled it up viciously, tossed it aside to an empty seat next to her. When she looked up, she found a boy standing over her, holding onto the pole. She recognized him as the boy she’d shared Chemistry class with. He seemed a bit surprised at her sudden gesture, eyes wide.

She didn’t want to leave this as yet another awkward silence. “This stupid article,” she blurted out in disgust, holding up the paper, “says that Spider-Man is a public menace.”

He blinked, almost surprised she even spoke to him, “Uh...wha--really? T--that’s kind of something, gotta say…”

“It’s _wrong,_ that’s what it is,” she continued, her anger sparked, “Did you _know_ that ever since Spider-Man emerged a few months ago, crime rates actually _dropped_ by forty percent?! Police actually don’t need to endanger their lives anymore, because _most of the time_ , Spider-Man’s already done _half_ the work they should be doing! And he doesn’t even get a _thanks_? What a load of crap!”

He merely blinked in response. Logic told her to shut up. That he wasn’t interested in what she had to say. Maybe he’d think she was _weird,_ but Annemarie continued on her verbal tirade,

“I was there yesterday! Spider-Man helped me. The thief tried to take me as a hostage, and he saved me! And yet this stupid…” She briefly looked down to the title of the paper, only to continue, “... _Daily Bugle_ says that he’s a menace? If anything, the city should be thanking him! For risking his life when he doesn’t have to! For doing at least _seventy-seven percent_ of what the stupid cops need to do! Maybe instead of antagonizing this public hero _,_ this stupid paper should focus on the facts _,_ the statistics _,_ and realize that Spider-Man is making the city a safer place!”

By the time she finished her tirade she realized she was standing up. Her face was inches from his, and their train had stopped at the stop they needed to get off on. It was then she realized how ridiculous she sounded, how _weird_ she must have seemed, and her cheeks heated up in pure embarrassment. Peter blinked in amazement at her sudden verbal onslaught. It was the most he had heard her speak since he first encountered her, a simple smile on the train. He watched as her cheeks grew a bright pink, and her eyes quickly left his, and she stuttered out,

“Um...um, I’m sorry...I should go!”

She brushed past him, got off the train and disappeared in a sea of people. After a brief pause, Peter caught himself and got off the train before the doors could close. He couldn’t resist the small, impressed smile that tugged at his lips.


End file.
